Car Safety: Avoiding Drunk Drivers

There’s never any excuse for operating a car while inebriated, or riding with someone who’s intoxicated. But what can you do about other drivers on the road who may be intoxicated? You cannot control the behavior of others, but there are ways to minimize your risks of encountering a drunk driver. The first one is to avoid driving late at night as much as possible. The vast majority of alcohol related collisions occur after dark. Most are late at night or very early in the morning. Stay off the roads during these hours and you’ll be much safer. Of course, it’s not possible for everyone to completely avoid driving during the highest risk hours. Many people work unusual or irregular shifts, and are either going to or coming from work during these hours. And if you absolutely refused to drive during the hours that are highest risk for car safety, you wouldn’t have much of a social life. So, complete avoidance isn’t really feasible for most people. If you do drive late at night on a regular basis, be on the lookout at all times for impaired drivers and be prepared to react. If you see a vehicle being operated erratically – speeding up and slowing down, weaving back and forth over different lanes – do whatever you can to safely get away from that driver. If they’re in front of you, it’s best to stay behind them as you might be struck if you try to pass. If you have a cell phone in your car (and you should) you should pull over as soon as possible and call 911 to report the situation. Give the dispatcher the license plate number, a description of the vehicle, and location and direction of travel. If the drunk driver is coming toward you, then try to get as far over to your side of the road as is safely possible. Be prepared to react instantly as the car gets closer. Once the car has passed, call 911. It’s imperative that drunk drivers be removed from the road. If someone is so intoxicated that their driving is visibly impaired, there’s a very good chance that someone will be hurt or killed if they’re allowed to keep driving. So call 911 immediately. There are also certain times of the evening, and different days of the year when you’ll need to be even more cautious. Bars and clubs are required by law to stop serving alcohol and close at a certain hour. In most states it’s around 1:30 or 2:30 in the morning. Closing time is a particularly unsafe time to be on the road, as that’s when the people who’ve been drinking all night and have no concern for automobile safety, get in their cars and head home. And New Year’s Eve is notorious for having huge numbers of intoxicated drivers on the roads. High school prom nights, too, tend to have higher rates of impaired drivers. If you can avoid being on the road on these nights, you’ll be much safer. If you must drive on these nights, or around closing hour, try to find a route that avoids large numbers of drinking establishments. And when you’re out at a club or a bar, don’t hang around until closing. Leave early, and you’ll greatly reduce your chances of being in a car accident.